Page 10 of Kiss of Embers

I reached for the phone just as Finn shoved it into my hand. Our knuckles glanced off each other, and Finn fumbled the phone, nearly dropping it.

“Fucking hell, Struan, if you don’t answer this thing, I’m going to?—”

I snatched it from him, and we glared at each other as I pressed theacceptbutton. “Consort,” I said.

“MacLure?” Niall said over the line.

“Aye. I apologize for missing your call, sir.” Gaze on Finn, I pointed at my dick, then at the door.Robe, I mouthed. He threw up his hands and headed for the hallway.

“It’s fine,” Niall said gruffly. “Listen, MacLure, I’ll get right to the point. Isolde is pregnant?—”

“Get the fuck out.” I winced even as joy filled my chest. “I mean— Shite. Um, sorry for swearing. That’s great?—”

“She’s not doing well.”

The joy died a swift death. Finn rushed back into the bedroom with my robe in his hand. But my nudity didn’t matter anymore. Finn looked as devastated as I felt, his brow furrowed as he stared at the phone. He’d obviously had no trouble hearing Niall. Given our superior hearing, private phone calls weren’t really a thing among our kind.

“We’ve stabilized her,” Niall said, “but she’s ailing. And we’re not sure if the bairns will survive.”

Finn jerked his gaze to mine, his eyes wide.

I sat heavily on the bed. “Did you saybairns?” I asked Niall.

“Aye. She’s carrying twins.” Tension filled Niall’s voice. “But it’s not looking good. She’s weak…and bleeding.”

“Have you tried tears?” As soon as I said it, I realized how stupid I sounded. Niall was nearly two thousand years old. The healing properties in his tears were extremely potent.Of coursehe’d tried tears.

“Of course,” he said, a hint of impatience in his tone. “I’ve tried everything, including summoning Alec Murray. He—” Niall stopped abruptly. A chair squeaked, and then muffled footsteps echoed over the line, followed by the sound of a door closing. When Niall spoke again, his voice was low and muffled, as if he stood in a small space. “Alec brought a human doctor to the castle. A specialist from Edinburgh.”

Finn sat beside me. “Murry charmed this doctor?”

“Aye,” Niall said, obviously unsurprised that Finn was listening. “It was risky bringing a human here, but we didn’t see an alternative. Isolde doesn’t trust any healers or physicians among the other races. After what she endured on the demon plane, I don’t blame her.” Niall’s sigh made the phone vibrate against my palm. “Murray’s fae heritage is strong. He erased the human doctor’s memory, and we sent the man on his way.”

“Did the specialist identify the source of the problem?” I asked.

“No. That’s the frustrating part. The scans look good. The bairns are developing normally. But Isolde gets sicker by the day. It’s as if her body can’t sustain the pregnancy. And, more and more, I worry we’ll lose her along with the bairns.”

Finn and I looked at each other, unspoken worries passing between us. If Isolde died, Niall and Cormac would die, too.Cormac was the last living full-blooded dragon. It was quite possible the race wouldn’t survive without him.

“The human doctor couldn’t give any answers,” Niall said. “The pregnancy hangs by a thread, and we don’t know why. Isolde is on bed rest. And Cormac…”

I tensed. Finn put a hand on my thigh. We stared at the phone, both of us holding our breath.

Niall dropped his voice to a near-whisper. “Cormac isn’t handling this well. I’m managing him the best I can, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep him…”

Sane.Niall didn’t have to finish his sentence. The word hung in the air like a black cloud. Worry was a drumbeat in my head. Dragons grew more powerful with age, and Cormac was unfathomably old. If Niall lost control of the king, the world—including the human realm—wasn’t safe. The consequences of an unrestrained Cormac were the nuclear fallout kind.

“We need a miracle,” Niall said. “And, as it turns out, one might be available.”

Hope sparked in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“The Firstborn Games start tomorrow. The winner receives a dram of the Elixir of Vozgadach. I know it’s a lot to ask?—”

“We’ll do it,” Finn and I said together. I looked at him, and he nodded before turning his attention back to the phone.

“Struan and I are all in, sir,” he said.

Niall’s relief-filled sigh gusted over the line. “I’m grateful. The two of you are among the toughest warriors the race has. And, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re both unconventional fighters when the situation calls for it.”